Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25198431›Full record

SynthesisPloS one2014

Effect of prophylactic low level laser therapy on oral mucositis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Sapna Oberoi, Gabriele Zamperlini-Netto, Joseph Beyene, Nathaniel S Treister, Lillian Sung

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02555501 (Laser Therapy Associated With Photodynamic Therapy in the Treatment of Oral Mucositis Induced by Chemotherapy in Young Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 67 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
67citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
11.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02555501 phase3completednot on this map

Laser Therapy Associated With Photodynamic Therapy in the Treatment of Oral Mucositis Induced by Chemotherapy in Young Patients: Randomized Blind Clinical Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversidade CeumaRan2014 to 2015Enrolled18ConditionsOral MucositisArmsPDT + Low level laser, Low level laser
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

67 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 182 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Is photobiomodulation therapy effective in reducing pain caused by toxicities related to head and neck cancer treatment? A systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019
    Pooled it
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  11. Photobiomodulation to prevent oral mucositis and physical function impairments after hematopoietic cell transplantation: POMFITT randomized trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Trial
  12. Low-level laser or LED photobiomodulation on oral mucositis in pediatric patients under high doses of methotrexate: prospective, randomized, controlled trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021
    Trial
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  16. Low-level laser therapy prevents severe oral mucositis in patients submitted to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a randomized clinical trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2016
    Trial
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Impact of structured oral care strategies on oral mucositis in patients receiving 5-fluorouracil: a retrospective cohort study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Article
  20. Review

7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Sapna OberoiDivision of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Gabriele Zamperlini-NettoDivision of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Joseph BeyeneProgram in Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Nathaniel S TreisterDivision of Oral Medicine & Dentistry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Lillian SungDivision of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Program in Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Hospital for Sick Children · CABrigham and Women's Hospital · USInstitute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundObjective was to determine whether prophylactic low level laser therapy (LLLT) reduces the risk of severe mucositis as compared to placebo or no therapy.

methodsMEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched until February 2014 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing prophylactic LLLT with placebo or no therapy in patients with cancer or undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). All analyses used random effects models.

resultsEighteen RCTs (1144 patients) were included. Prophylactic LLLT reduced the overall risk of severe mucositis (risk ratio (RR) 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.20 to 0.67; P = 0.001). LLLT also reduced the following outcomes when compared to placebo/no therapy: severe mucositis at the time of anticipated maximal mucositis (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.59), overall mean grade of mucositis (standardized mean difference -1.49, 95% CI -2.02 to -0.95), duration of severe mucositis (weighted mean difference -5.32, 95% CI -9.45 to -1.19) and incidence of severe pain (RR 0.26, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.37).

conclusionProphylactic LLLT reduced severe mucositis and pain in patients with cancer and HSCT recipients. Future research should identify the optimal characteristics of LLLT and determine feasibility in the clinical setting.

Indexed as

Hematopoietic Stem Cell TransplantationHumansLow-Level Light TherapyStomatitis

Identifiers

PMID25198431
PMCPMC4157876
OpenAlexW2037350881

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.